A publishing house providing platform for writings of transgenders

Discover Thirunangai Press LLP at the 48th Chennai Book Fair, showcasing authentic writings by and about transgender individuals.

One of the attractions of the 48th Chennai Book Fair that began on December 27, is Thirunangai Press LLP, a book stall dedicated to writings by and about transgender.

“Earlier we had 27 titles and this year we have added 15 more,” said Grace Bhanu, who founded the publishing venture with her friend Swetha. It was launched in 2021 as a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) and most of the volunteers are transgenders.

“As a community we continue to remain on the margins of society and our voice is yet to be heard. Most of the literature on transgender is written by others. We launched the publishing house to create a space for ourselves in the literary and publishing world and to interact with readers,” said Grace Bhanu.

She said the writings about transgender would be more authentic if it was by the members of the community and in their language. Most of the books on the shelf of the Thirunangai Press are written either by transwomen or transmen. Ms Grace, who recently visited the U.S., has written her experience as Theetu Paravai, Diaries of a Transwoman. She is also planning an autobiography.

There are books by transmen including Sonesh and Sreekanth. The publication has also released Dr. Ambedkar’s writing on caste. Besides translating Tamils works in English, it is also planning to translate works of transgender from other languages into Tamil.

Writer Soloman has published two of his novels through the Thirumangai Press. “My writings make a strong case for democratisation of everything in society. There can be no better platform than Thirunangai Press to convey my ideas,” he said.